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By Ray Hamill — Are you ready for some history?
The Ferndale Wildcats look like they are.
On Friday afternoon, the Cats will play for a first-ever state championship in football when they face off against Fairfax out of Los Angeles in the CIF Division 7-AA bowl game at El Cerrito College in Torrance.
The 14-time North Coast Section champions are bidding to become the first H-DNL team to win a state championship since St. Bernard’s in 2019 and just the third H-DNL school ever, joining the aforementioned Crusaders who also won a state title in 2015 and the Fortuna Huskies, who won in 2017.
This is small school football at its finest and just what you would expect from the most successful postseason team in H-DNL history.
No doubt the Cats would have won a state title already had they been able to compete for one during their glory days in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, but the state bowl games are a relatively new concept.
With that being said, however, this is a group of players who are playing like a team of destiny.
After three straight playoff wins on the road against higher seeds on the way to an NCS championship, the Cats dominated Portola in last weekend’s NorCal regional showdown at the Redwood Bowl, pulling away after the break on the way to a comfortable 32-7 victory.
They are playing their best football of the season right now and continue to grow as a team each week.
The Ferndale defense has been outstanding on their march through the playoffs and has allowed just two touchdowns in the past three-and-a-half games.
The offense too has been clicking, with multiple ball carriers sharing the load and capable of breaking free on just about any play.
And that all starts in the trenches where the physical Wildcats have been setting the tone.
And not to be out-done, the Ferndale special teams also have been outstanding in recent weeks with some big returns making life easier for the offense.
It’s good old-fashioned small-town football at its finest and the Wildcats play a physical brand of football that wears opponents down, something we’ve clearly seen this postseason.
For a program that some fans believed was no longer the force it once was — the Cats had not won an NCS title in 11 years — these Ferndale players have defied expectations and now find themselves on the verge of an historic achievement.
Friday’s game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the NFHS Network.
It will also be broadcast live at the Bear River Casino Resort Thirsty Bear Lounge.
Both teams have identical 10-4 records, with Fairfax having a bye in the state playoffs last week and advancing directly to the championship game.
The Lions are a team that likes to pass the ball and is averaging 254.5 yards a game and just 69.4 yards on the ground.
